Just finished reading...

Cooking the Books by Kerry Greenwood (Corinna Chapman mystery #6). 

Baker Corinna Chapman, who works extremely hard as a general rule, is on holiday, and trying very hard to do nothing at all.   The handsome  Daniel is investigating a case, though he does come by to keep Corinna company. Her assistant Jason has gone to the beach to learn how to surf, and the two cashiers Kylie and Goss have short-term parts in a soap opera called "Kiss the Bride".

Corinna discovers she's not very good at doing nothing, so she reluctantly accepts a plea from an old  friend to fill in for the an injured member of her catering company, which happens to be working on the set of  a soap opera (or "soapie" in local slang). 

Corinna's Melbourne is a small town indeed, because it turns out that it is the same place where Kylie and Goss are working.  Coincidentally, someone has mentioned to Corinna that there might be trouble brewing on this set, so it gives her a good opportunity to keep an eye on her girls.

The inhabitants of  the Roman-style building Insula, which contains Earthly Delights on the ground floor and sixteen apartments on the eight storeys above, include Corinna (and occasionally her lover Daniel) , Jason, Kylie and Goss, gay couple Jon and Kepler, a retired classics professor and a  practicing witch.   This disparate group are more closely-knit (and dysfunctional) than most families.  They always seem to be available to help with each others' problems and provide first-aid, or potluck for parties. 

Corinna's first-person narrative is cheerful (even when she claims she's grumpy) and straightforward.  A large woman whose acceptance of her size is refreshing, she's a wonderful role model for all women.

Just finished reading...

Ghoul Interrupted (Ghost Hunter Mystery #6) by Victoria Laurie.

The last time we saw the Ghost Hunters crew, they were in Ireland removing a phantom from a castle. There is a possible basis for a show in Dunkird, but they have to put aside these plans and head to New Mexico to deal with the death of Heath's Uncle Milton.

M.J.'s spirit guide Sam Whitefeather (who happens to be Heath's grandfather) appears in a dream to warn her of this just before Heath is notified by his cousin. Sam informs M.J. that Milton has been unable to cross over because of the traumatic nature of his death, which was caused by a demon whose mission is to destroy the Whitefeather clan. M.J.'s job is to locate the person possessed by the demon and kill him or her.

Although M.J. is not thrilled about the idea of killing someone, she's prepared to do it if it's the only way to dispose of the demon. While Gopher and the rest of the Ghost Hunter crew return to L.A. to deal with paperwork, M.J., Heath and Gilley fly to Santa Fe to take care of the evil spirit.

M.J. and her crew fight ghost and demons the same way one would fight any battle, by being mentally prepared and having the proper tools and weapons (which include custom magnetized spikes and "grenades"). Laurie's matter-of-fact narration of these astonishing events is what keeps this series from edging into the horror novel category.

At the end of the book is a preview of the next Ghost Hunter novel What A Ghoul Wants, due in January 2013.


*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Missing Persons by Clare O'Donohue.*

Kate Conway's husband left her for an older woman and filed for divorce. Home alone one night and feeling sorry for herself, she gets a call from Vera, the new girlfriend, telling her that she's had to call an ambulance for Frank. Soon after Kate gets to the hospital, the doctor informs them that Frank has died.

When the doctor asks for an autopsy, and the police come to visit her, Kate is certain that there was something fishy about her the death, and tries to find out what happenedKate also accepts a new gig from Crime TV, producing a series about real missing persons cases. The first episode will be about a young woman named Theresa Moretti, an apparently flawless young woman who disappeared a year earlier.

Suddenly, Chicago begins to seem like a very small town, with many of the people involved in her husband's death also turning up in the Moretti case, and it appears that Kate has a stalker.

Also the author of the Someday Quilts mystery series, much cozier than this first book of the Kate Conway series, O'Donohue writes from experience as a television producer of several programs for several networks, including truTV, TLC and The History Channel. Writing in the first person from Kate's point of view, the author somehow manages to allow the reader to draw her/his own conclusions rather than accepting what the character believes.

No indication of when the next Kate Conway novel might appear, though there is a new book in the Someday Quilts series (The Devil's Puzzle) due in September.

*Along with my review copy, the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of Missing Persons to give away. US entries only, please. Deadline is midnight, Saturday July 2nd.

Just finished reading...

Prime Time and Face Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Hank Phillippi Ryan was kind enough to send me a signed copy of Face Time (the second book in the Charlotte McNally series), which meant that I had to purchase a copy of Prime Time and read it first.

I enjoyed the first book so much that I had to read the second immediately, which is why I'm writing a joint review.

Prime Time introduces us to Charlotte "Charlie" McNally, an award-winning investigative reporter for Boston's (fictitious) Channel 3 news. In her mid-forties, Charlie worries that she's too old to be on camera and expects to be replaced by the Latest Young Thing at any moment, and goes to the office early to try to come up with a big story.

However, when the LYT doesn't appear to read a morning newsbreak, Charlie is asked to fill in, and one of the stories she teases captures her attention. The story is about a man named Bradley Foreman who was killed an a car accident. Foreman worked for a company called Aztratech, which is what alerts Charlie, and she considers it good luck when she is required to interview Foreman's widow in place of the missing LYT.

The widow, Melanie Foreman, tells Charlie about an email that her late husband had supposedly sent the reporter before his death. Charlie's pretty sure she didn't receive it, but checks again when she gets back to her desk, and finds one that was sent anonymously but had to be from Foreman.

Digging into the questions raised by the email provides Charlie with the Big Story she's been looking for, and her investigation leads her to an attractive professor named Josh Gelston, who immediately invites her to one of his drama class productions. At first Charlie is smitten, but some incidents occur that her suspicious self thinks are curious, and she backs off, while still hoping that he is genuine.

In Face Time, Charlie and her producer Franklin have to deal with hot-shot new news director Susannah Smith-Bagley, who is pushing them to get a scoop for sweeps month. She's a little distracted because her mother is in hospital, her best friend just found out she's pregnant, and her boyfriend wants her to vacation with him and his 9-year-old daughter, but she's sure she can handle all that AND look into the story of a woman who may have been wrongly imprisoned for the murder of her husband 3 years earlier. The investigation is hampered by the fact that Dorinda Sweeney, the convicted woman, refuses to see or speak with Charlie. As a result, Charlie and Franklin are forced to conduct their research in a very roundabout way, which ends up putting both of them in jeopardy.

Both books are gripping reads and I stayed up reading until my eyes couldn't stay open a few nights in a row. I'm looking forward to the third book in the series, Air Time, which was released September 1st, and which I don't have yet. But that's okay, because I really need to catch up on my sleep.